Information about the United Polish Genealogical Societies Conference

Archive for January, 2008

Have you ever wondered where people with your surname live in present-day Poland?

An easy-to-use tool lets you find out.

Screen Shot of MoiKrewni

Just go to the MojKrewni site at http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/ , enter your surname in the search box that follows the words MAPA NAZWISK and click on the SZUKAJ button.

A map of Poland will appear with the frequency of your surname color coded.

If your surname includes any of the special Polish characters with diacritical marks, you’ll need to enter those when you search.

You can also browse the surnames in the database by clicking on the letters at the bottom of the page. To use this feature, click on the first letter of the surname. A new page will appear incuding ranges of names.

For example, clicking on the letter D will bring up a page showing ranges of names such as:

D`amico do Dajborek
Dajbóg do Dammeyer
Dammfeld do Daoud
Daoud-Michalik do Daunderer
Daunheimer do De Dijn

Click on the name range in which your surname falls. Clicking on the range “Dammfeld do Daoud”, will bring up another page with choices of surnames from Dammfeld to Daoud. Remember that, in Polish, letters with diacritical marks such as ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, and ź are arranged alphabetically after the same letters without the diacritical marks.

Marie Dallas was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up listening to her Polish grandmother’s stories about her early childhood in Poland. She has been researching her Polish ancestry for 20 years and is currently raising three daughters with her husband.

Since 1998, Marie has been the webmaster and country coordinator for the PolandGenWeb project, which provides information on how to research Polish ancestry. She is the administrator for 24 genealogy mailing lists, including Poland-Roots, and 110 genealogy message boards at RootsWeb.

Marie will be available for consultations on Monday during the UPGS conference.

The United Polish Genealogical Societies Conference will be held Friday, April 18 through Monday, April 21, 2008 at the Best Western Salt Lake Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. The tentative schedule has been posted. The final schedule will be posted when available. Registration is now open online and by mail.

Donna Pointkouski has been researching her family history since 1989 with a focus on Bavaria in Germany and several areas in Poland including the Mazowsze and Wielkopolski provinces. She also taught a non-credit genealogy course at a university in Philadelphia with her friend, Marie Dallas, who is the province coordinator of PolandGenWeb. Donna hosts two province pages on PolandGenWeb, Łódz and Śląskie.

Donna has a Master of Arts in English from Arcadia University and has written for several publications including Internet Genealogy and Family Chronicle. You can read more about her genealogical pursuits on her blog, What’s Past is Prologue (http://pastprologue.wordpress.com). She has been a member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America (PGSA) since 1989 and recently joined the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE).

Donna will be available for consultations on Monday during the UPGS conference.

The United Polish Genealogical Societies Conference will be held Friday, April 18 through Monday, April 21, 2008 at the Best Western Salt Lake Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. The tentative schedule has been posted. The final schedule will be posted when available. Registration is now open online and by mail.

Baerbel K. Johnson, AG is a professional genealogist and works at the Family History Library as International Reference Consultant. She holds degrees in Family and Local History Studies and Sociology from BYU, and has more than twenty years of extensive experience in European family history research with emphasis on Germany. She has published a number of journal articles, contributed material for several books, and lectured at various conferences. Her personal interest is in “putting flesh on the genealogical skeleton” by placing each individual within a proper social and historical context.

The United Polish Genealogical Societies Conference will be held Friday, April 18 through Monday, April 21, 2008 at the Best Western Salt Lake Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. The tentative schedule has been posted. The final schedule will be posted when available. Registration is now open online and by mail.